A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck beneath the Marmara Sea just off the western fringes of Istanbul on Wednesday afternoon, sending tremors rippling through Turkey’s largest city and prompting thousands to spill into the streets in fear.
The quake, which hit at 12:49 p.m. local time (0949 GMT), was centered near Silivri, a coastal district along the Sea of Marmara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The shockwaves were felt across multiple provinces, though no fatalities or major injuries were immediately reported.
In Istanbul, a sprawling metropolis of more than 16 million people, the tremor caused buildings to sway for several seconds.
Office workers, shoppers, and residents poured into the streets in alarm, some clutching phones, others calling loved ones or searching for updates online.
“I just felt earthquake, I’ve got to get out,” said one visibly shaken man, a decorator who had been working in a fourth-floor flat near the historic Galata Tower.
He declined to give his name, still shaken as he joined others gathering in open areas for safety.
The initial quake was followed by at least three aftershocks, measuring between 4.4 and 4.9 in magnitude, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
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Officials were quick to try to calm public nerves. “Until now, we have no information about any buildings collapsing,” the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement, urging residents to stay away from structures that may have been weakened.
“No serious cases have been reported so far following the earthquake in Istanbul,” the city’s municipality echoed in a post.
The tremors were strong enough to be felt beyond Turkey’s borders. In Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, AFP journalists reported the ground moving beneath their feet.
Turkey sits on one of the world’s most seismically active regions, and memories of past disasters — including the devastating 1999 quake that killed over 17,000 people — still linger in the national consciousness.
While the city appears to have avoided major damage this time, experts continue to warn that Istanbul remains vulnerable to a large-scale quake in the future.